Erudite Faction
by kw1o1
Summary: Beatrice is asked by her parents to move to Erudite to help the members of Abnegation. (Tobias WILL come in the future) Rated T just in case. Please review and tell me what you think! :)
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**  
Every week, my parents have meetings with other Abnegation council members. Whenever the members, such as Marcus Eaton, come over, I am either sent to my room or to help feed the factionless with Caleb. Last week was the same. Marcus knocked on the door, and I avoided his eyes when I bowed in greeting and murmured a "hello." Marcus did the same and walked to the usual room. After the last member joined the meeting, I left along with Caleb.  
As I walked to the building that holds the food, I asked Caleb, "What do you think they are talking about in there this time?"  
Caleb did what I expected. He looked at me disapprovingly and told me to, "Stop being too curious." The line to pick up food moved then, and we picked up our food to distribute it to the factionless without another word about our parents' meetings.  
When I took a step into our home, my parents were still in their meeting. This was quite strange because they'd usually be finished by the time Caleb and I were done. I didn't think much about it and went straight to my room, wanting to avoid Caleb's disapproving talks. But today I learn why the meeting was prolonged.  
**Chapter One**  
After I return from my aptitude test, I find my parents waiting in the living room for me and probably Caleb. I expect them to tell me ahead about the meeting, so I would to go to my room, but they surprise me by telling me I'll be joining them. "There's something we need to ask you."  
I raise an eyebrow, waiting for an answer. My mother gently shakes her head and says, "Not now. We'll explain it to you in the meeting."  
I widen my eyes in surprise. "You want _me_ in your meetings?!" If they were going to ask anyone to join one of their meetings, I thought they'd ask Caleb first.  
My father's tired eyes grow serious. "Yes, I hope you agree to join." He's requesting for my attendance, but he's subtly demanding me to join."  
I agree. "Yes, of course."  
When Caleb returns, our parents tell him to go to my room. He looks at me curiously, but doesn't say or ask anything like any good Abnegation member. He truly belongs here unlike me. He'll most likely choose to stay here at the Choosing Ceremony.  
As I walk into the room, my mother lets the other members in. In the center of the room, there's a big wooden table of the room surrounded by wooden chairs. Simple. I take a seat next to my father. Everybody else takes their seat.  
My father clears his throat and begins. "Beatrice, the Erudite wants to hurt the Abnegation. We originally had an extremely important information, but Jeanine stole it from us. We need to get it back."  
"What do you want me to do?" I ask.  
My father gives me a pained expression but doesn't say anything. Marcus answers my question for him. "We need you to choose the Erudite faction and find a way to get the information."  
"Why me? What makes you think I'll be able to pass the initiation there?"  
"We know you are smart enough," Marcus answers. "Please, it's for the good of everyone."  
I chew on the inside of cheek. If I choose to go there, I'll be making a huge sacrifice, a selfless decision.  
"Okay."


	2. Chapter 2

I climb twenty flights of stairs to reach the Choosing Ceremony along with the other Abnegation members. My father holds the door open on the twentieth floor and stands like a sentry as every Abnegation current member walks past him. I would wait for him, but the crowd presses me forward, out of the stairwell and into the room where I will decide to choose the Erudite faction. We arrange ourselves in alphabetical order, according to the last names we may leave behind today. I stand between Caleb and Danielle Pohler, an Amity girl with rosy cheeks and a yellow dress. Marcus will give the opening address and read the names in reverse alphabetical order. Caleb will choose before me.

Marcus stands at the podium between the Erudite and the Dauntless and clears his throat into the microphone.

"Welcome," he says. "Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony. Welcome to the day we honor the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tells us that every man has the right to choose his own way in this world." I squeeze Caleb's fingers as hard as he is squeezing mine. "Our dependents are now sixteen. They stand on the precipice of adulthood, and it is now up to them to decide what kind of people they will be." Marcus's voice is solemn and gives equal weight to each word. "Decades ago our ancestors realized that it is not political ideology, religious belief, race, or nationalism that is to blame for a warring world. Rather, they determined that it was the fault of human personality—of humankind's inclination toward evil, in whatever form that is. They divided into factions that sought to eradicate those qualities they believed responsible for the world's disarray." My eyes shift to the bowls in the center of the room.

Marcus begins to read the first names. I recognize most of them, but I doubt they know me. "James Tucker," Marcus says. James Tucker of the Dauntless is the first person to stumble on his way to the bowls. He throws his arms out and regains his balance before hitting the floor. His face turns red and he walks fast to the middle of the room. When he stands in the center, he looks from the Dauntless bowl to the Erudite bowl. Marcus offers him the knife. He breathes deeply—I watch his chest rise—and, as he exhales, accepts the knife. Then he drags it across his palm with a jerk and holds his arm out to the side. His blood falls onto glass, and he is the first of us to switch factions.

"Caleb Prior," says Marcus. Caleb squeezes my hand one last time, and as he walks away, casts a long look at me over his shoulder. I watch his feet move to the center of the room, and his hands, steady as they accept the knife from Marcus, are deft as one presses the knife into the other. Then he stands with blood pooling in his palm, and his lip snags on his teeth. He breathes out. And then in. And then he holds his hand over the Erudite bowl, and his blood drips into the water, turning it a deeper shade of red. I hear mutters that lift into outraged cries. I can barely think straight. He's supposed to choose Abnegation. Did my parents plan this? Or was this his own decision? I look towards the audience and try to find my parents, to look for some sort of confirmation. "Excuse me," says Marcus, but the crowd doesn't hear him. He shouts, "Quiet, please!" The room goes silent. I hear my name and a shudder propels me forward.

Marcus offers me a knife. I look at him and try to find a sign of confirmation from him. He gives me a nod of encouragement, and I turn toward the bowls. I hold the knife in my right hand and touch the blade to my palm. Gritting my teeth, I drag the blade down. It stings, but I barely notice. I hold both hands to my chest, and my next breath shudders on the way out. I open my eyes and thrust my arm out. My blood drips into the Erudite bowl. More shouting follows as now there are _two_ Erudite transfers who are from Abnegation and are Andrew Prior's children.

**I know this chapter was a lot like the book's, but I just wanted to keep the tradition and quotes right. I also made this a lot shorter than the book's and obviously changed it to make it fit my story. I'm actually working on a new chapter now, so that will probably be uploaded today :)**


	3. Chapter 3

I stare down at the floor and stand behind the Erudite-born initiates who chose to return to their own faction. When the last girl makes her choice-Amity-it's time to leave. The Dauntless exit first. I stare longingly at the black clad group leaving, maybe for a bit too long because Caleb nudges me with his shoulder. The Amity and Candor leave. Then it's the Erudite's turn. I look back at my parents and find my father giving me a small smile. My mother too. I return the smile and walk with the others.

The crowd of Erudite leading us walks calmly towards the elevators. We split up into separate groups. The group at the front is Erudite-borns. The second group is Erudite-borns. The third group is just the Erudite-transfers. During the elevator ride, I can feel Caleb's eyes on me, questioning me. He probably doesn't believe I belong in Erudite, which is true.

My eyes uncomfortably shift to the person standing on my left. It's James Tucker from Dauntless. He smiles, and I smile back. "I'm James," he says, offering me his hand. A Dauntless greeting. I shake his hand, making sure I don't squeeze too hard or not hard enough. "I'm Beatrice."

The elevator doors open, and my group steps out. Everyone walks to the train, and everyone stands with their group. "What do you think life at Erudite is like?" James asks.

"I don't know. Maybe school" I joke. James shrugs and says, "Who knows." The train stops, and we all walk towards Jeanine, the head of the Erudite.

She scans the group and stops for a few seconds longer at me and Caleb. She smirks. "My name is Jeanine. As you all probably know, I am the leader of this faction. In order to evaluate each and every one of you, your first stage of initiation will take place now. We will be testing you."

A burst of murmurs interrupts her, and a transfer shouts, "That's not fair. The members from Erudite clearly have an advantage since they've all learned this stuff from the beginning." The group of transfers grunt in agreement. Jeanine answers, "This test only includes the lessons you all learned from school. We are only testing how much you remember."

I look back at my group and see most of them are still nervous. Jeanine walks to another room, and we all follow her. The room is filled with desks and chairs. "Take a seat."

The Erudite-born members walk to a chair and sit. Caleb follows. The rest of us stand nervously. A few bite their lips. James shrugs and walks to a chair. I sit next to him. The others finally calm down and find a spot. Jeanine clears her throat and slightly nods at the older Erudite members. They begin passing out the tests and pencils.

During the next hour, I notice a few members getting kicked out. The test is filled with questions from history, math, and science. Luckily I remember a majority of the information in those subjects. By the time we all complete the test, around a quarter of the room is empty. "Around a quarter of the room is gone because we caught them cheating. Here, we do not take cheating lightly," Jeanine says with a smirk in the end.

She dismisses us to lunch. "We will show you the results after you finish lunch." Everyone will probably be talking about the test and barely eat.

The Erudite members are noticeably more relaxed, reading while eating. "Caleb," I say while in the lunch line. He looks back at me with both his eyebrows raised. "What do you think of the test?" I ask. Caleb thinks for a moment before saying, "It was pretty easy actually." After seeing my confused look, he explains, "I always found those subjects interesting." I can only say, "Oh."

The lunch they give us includes a salad with chicken and a bowl of fruit. "Here," James gives me a cup that has bubbles inside. I stare suspiciously at it. "What is it?"

"I don't know," he says, "just try it. It's good." I stare at him for a moment before putting the cup to my lips and trying it. My face immediately scrunches up. "It tastes weird."

He widens his eyes, "Is it? Well, I'm not going to try it now." I roll my eyes and continue eating. "So what did you think of the test?" I ask. James shrugs and says, "Okay I guess."

"The results are up!" an Erudite member says. We all abandon our lunch and walk back into the room. The board at the front has a list of our names.

Jeanine calls for order, and we all sit back in our chairs. "All of your names are listed in order based on how well each of you did on your test. If your name is under the line, then you did not meet the requirements. You will be forced to leave this faction."

Not surprisingly, all the Erudite-born members passed. I passed, but I'm at the lower half. James is right above me. Caleb is at the top with the Erudite-born members. Three transfers are out. Factionless. They begin to cry, and the other transfers begin to console them.

"Those who failed will have until tonight to leave," Jeanine says. "The rest of you will follow me now." She leads us to another part of the building. "Here, there are a couple dorms. You will be paired up with another person of your gender. We have already chosen your room for you, using a mathematical system." She begins announcing our names and which room we'll be staying at. I'm paired up with a girl from Amity named Paula. "There is a set of rules here. If they are broken, you will face consequences. The first rule is that you must wear at least one article of blue clothing per day. Blue is a calming color that helps stimulate the brain. The second rule is that you must wear glasses every day. They make you look smarter. Our third rule is that you may not bring someone of an opposite sex into your dorm. In other words, you may not copulate."

She lets us leave to our dorms then. Our room has two beds, closets, and desks. On my desk, I find a pair of glasses. My closet is filled with blue clothes. Tomorrow, she'll tell us what we will do in our second stage.


End file.
